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Subject:Re: The Problem with STC From:"Herman Holtz" <h -dot- holtz -at- worldnet -dot- att -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Sun, 10 Dec 2000 19:01:44 -0500
> Of course it does. I'd go further: you simply can't
> write well about a technical subject you don't
> understand. I would have thought that was a given.
> for more resources and info.
Perhaps it should be a given, but for it to be that, the writer must
have a realistic idea of his or her understanding of the subject. Again and
again, in reviewing the work of technical writers, I found strong evidence
that they did not understand the subject, but believed that they did! It's
amazingly easy to make yourself believe something you wish to believe
because it ought to true.
In most cases, I could prove my point easily. I confiscated the draft
and sent the writer back to research the subject a bit more, and then try to
write again from scratch. Amazing improvements in the manuscripts almost
always resulted.
The symptoms are easy to spot. The writer is clear and detailed in the
areas of the subject where he or she knows what is what, but the text gets
rather vague and general in other areas. - Herm
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